Chawanmushi Recipe (Japanese Steamed Egg Custard/茶碗蒸し)

This is a special post to my readers who have requested for a chawanmushi recipe. Chawanmushi or steamed egg custard (茶碗蒸し) is a popular Japanese dish, one that is mostly ordered as an appetizer at Japanese restaurants.

From the name of this dish in Kanji 茶碗蒸, I believe chawanmushi is originally a Chinese dish, but has since been perfected by Japanese chefs. The Chinese version of steamed egg custard or 蒸水蛋 is a lot simpler, but not as tasty as chawanmushi, in my honest opinion. The reason is very simple: chawanmushi is loaded with treasures that are buried at the bottom of the steamed egg custard while the Chinese version is usually plain! Plus, the use of dashi stock and sake are great seasonings for an otherwise plain steamed egg taste.

For my recipe, I used shrimp and chicken–two common ingredients for chawanmushi. Inspired by my favorite Japanese restaurant in Beverly Hills, I also added a bay scallop in each serving. I did it without gingko nuts but traditional chawanmushi recipe calls for them.

All in all though, I love chawanmushi and made them two days in a row! It does take some techniques to make them picture perfect and silky smooth (which I am still learning), but am very pleased with the results.

The Chawan mushi（茶碗蒸し）picture looks great & I think the taste must be perfect:)美味しそう！..Think I need to improve the photo skill in order to get more good 1st impression of the food.. Get more free japanese food recipe @ http://www.youlinchng.com

I have this down to a science almost now – I practically live on chawan mushi – it is so delicious. My version is a little over 1/2 cup liquid (dashi stock is a must) to 1 egg. maybe a dash more dashi…(I usually do 1 1/4 cup dashi with 2 eggs) and I would probably fo 11/2 cups and a smidge more with 3 eggs.
I add a bit of chicken and shrimp marinated in mirin and soy, and some shelled edamame or green peas to the bowl and steam for about 20 minutes or until done. It is so simple and so satisfying. I have never bothered doing the straining of the egg. I mix it well and I find it smooth enough. It presents best in individual ramekins for serving to guests – but I eat the whole batch myself so I cook it in one big double boiler.

My mother taught me how to make this, then I learned a Chinese version from my mil. I think the key differences are staining the egg mixture to give it the silky texture and using high quality dashi for the flavor. The ‘MSG’ flavor comes from seaweed, and dashi is made from seaweed (kombu).

Try steaming method in which you place the ramekin dishes(with the egg mixture) in a pot with some water in it. Then, prior to steaming the egg, you should cover the mouth of the pot with a cheesecloth and then put the lid on top. That way, you won’t have the water dropping into the ramekin dishes as the water simmers.

It is not correct to say that the Chinese version is served “plain”. Perhaps you have only had it plain. Chinese egg custard, depending on the region of China, will have flavor builders steamed with the egg custard base including seafood, sometimes chicken, and vegetables. Both Japanese and Chinese versions are lovely and delicate – neither is better as, in matters of taste, it is ultimately an issue of preference.

Rasa Malaysia – try the following if you’re not satisfied with texture. Steam in at high heat for the first two minutes then lower the flame right down for the remaining 13 minutes – keeping the cups cowered of course. For ratio of dashi to egg, I find two cups of cold dashi and three eggs (lightly beaten, minimal bubbles and strained) works best.